Born in Oklahoma City, Steve’s interest in The Arts began at six, with monster model building and an unquenched thirst for mystery and horror films. By eight he was building Haunted Houses in his garage and charging neighborhood kids admission. Thanks to Famous Monsters Magazine, a passion for anything artistic and films like Man of a Thousand Faces, The Time Machine, War of the Worlds and Planet of the Apes, his interests in film making continued to grow. In high school, Steve entered a new Vocational program and began his studies in Commercial Art. After the two year program and graduating at the top in his class , Steve was offered a Commercial Art Scholarship to Oklahoma State Tech. and began preparing for the move across the State. That Summer of ’74 his Life course was forever changed when Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to town. On a whim, after seeing a TV advertisement, Steve auditioned for the Circus Clown College. Six weeks later, just before leaving for State Tech. the phone rang and the Circus swept him away to Florida for two months of training in the Circus Arts which, by chance, included makeup, prop & costuming. A touring contract was offered and at 18 Steve hit the road touring the U.S. performing to live audiences as a Clown and High Stilt Walker. After touring for 4 Seasons with The Greatest Show On Earth, 2 of which as Boss Clown, the youngest ever at that time, Steve landed in Hollywood at the right time to transition into the Film Industry. Having studied and practiced makeup during his touring he made the rounds from NBC, CBS, Disney and finally to the doorstep of Tom Burman and The Burman Studio. Taking any job from sculpting to mold making and even performing in commercial work kept him in the circle and an offer from Universal Tour’s “Land of a Thousand Faces” finally got him in on the ground floor of the Makeup World. Soon work at the Burman Studio and other Independent films, including “The Howling” for Rob Bottin, Steve built his skills and resume to the point where he opened Steve LaPorte Creations, Makeup and Effects in North Hollywood.

Steve’s true calling came ,however, when he was frequently requested on sets for his application, supervising and people skills. In 1984, NBC hired him as a Studio Makeup Artist and to run the Studio Makeup Lab. Once in the Union, the work kept coming and barely a year later Steve left NBC to join Makeup Designer Ken Chase as his key makeup artist on, “The Color Purple “. He continued with Ken as his lab technician and key makeup artist on “Golden Child “ and lab tech. on “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”.

Steve teamed up with Ve Neill on “Lost Boys” and later “Beetlejuice” where they both won an Oscar for Best Makeup. Over the years Steve has continued to work and collaborate with his fellow artists on various productions.

Consulting with Makeup Veteran Dick Smith for the past 20 years has also granted Steve as an honored Faculty Member and Consultant for Dick’s, Basic 3-D and Professional Makeup Courses. Steve is also a regular contributor for his Out-of-Kit techniques to Makeup Artist Magazine and frequently provides demonstrations at trade shows for Premier Products and his own product and makeup lines, FaceMaker Series and Port-a-Case. When not working on a production, Steve works from his in home makeup lab under his Corp., Freeform Creations producing effects and developing new products for the Industry .